The Iron Leopard thrashed wildly within the octopus’s constriction, but the water threads held it enough that it couldn’t escape. The flexible binding that Jax had questioned monts before now proved its worth, keeping the creature locked in place despite its struggles.
Everyone waited to the side, their eyes skipping between the leopard and Lucille.
Lucille had long since used her spell, used along with Jax’s Thundercloud staff, so it was just a matter of waiting.
A mont later, a brilliant bolt of lightning descended from above. The bolt struck directly through the water octopus, illuminating its entire body on the inside with the Leopard held tightly in its grasp.
The octopus remained completely unhard, its water body conducting the lightning safely through to its target. The Iron Leopard, however, had no such luck. In fact, it was very vulnerable to the elent of the attack, and it convulsed as the electricity coursed through its tallic fur and body.
If the monster let out any roar in pain, it was swallowed by the drowning sound of the thunderclap.
"Nice!" Jax called out, watching the boss take massive damage from the lightning strike.
The octopus imdiately released its grip and flowed back toward Lucille, positioning itself defensively around her. The leopard collapsed to the ground, its body smoking and twitching from the lightning attack.
Steam rose from its form, and a certain acrid sll filled the arena.
But it wasn’t finished yet.
The Iron Leopard struggled to its feet, its movents slower but still dangerous. Its tallic fur began to bristle once more, preparing for another devastating Needle Fur attack.
"It’s going for the needles again!" layne warned, raising her sword defensively.
Ning had been circling the battlefield, waiting for exactly this mont. As the leopard’s attention focused on the party in front of it, he moved with enhanced speed from Roman’s earlier spell.
He sprinted directly at the boss from behind, his spear already positioned for the strike. The creature’s back was exposed, and Ning could see the critical spot clearly. The spear pierced through the creature’s defenses with perfect accuracy, striking the second critical spot.
The Iron Leopard imdiately let out an ear-splitting roar of pain and fury, which would also be its final cry.
Its body convulsed once more, then suddenly burst apart in a shower of tallic fur and sparks. What remained in its death was only the loot.
"Finally!" Jax said, lowering his axe and taking a deep breath.
The entire party relaxed, their weapons lowering as they realized the fight was over. They had done it.
"Round 11" appeared in glowing letters above them, with a 2-minute countdown tir beginning its descent.
They were a little annoyed that the tir had appeared the mont they had won, as if mocking their effort and spitting on their victory. It was telling them that this victory wasn’t enough and they would have to fight a lot more.
"We took down the boss in just 3 minutes," layne said, shaking her head in amazent. "We had nearly 15 minutes to fight it, and we finished it that quickly."
"Good teamwork," Lucille replied, dismissing her octopus with a wave of her hand. The water guardian dissolved into mist and disappeared. "It was a difficult matchup against our lineup, but we did well. Next ti, if the boss has any significant vulnerability, we exploit it from the start."
Jax nodded. "We should have used the lightning spell from the start," he said with a slight grimace.
Roman imdiately approached Jax, his healing spells at the ready. "How are you feeling? Those needle attacks looked brutal."
"Still hurts a little," Jax admitted, wincing as he moved. "The armor caught most of it, but so got through."
Roman placed his hands on Jax’s shoulders, and golden light surrounded him once more. "That should take care of the rest of it."
Lucille agreed to Jax’s words. "If possible, we should definitely exploit the weakness from the start."
anwhile, Ning had moved to collect the loot from where the Iron Leopard had fallen. He counted the items quickly and called out to the others.
"Five Erald stones and one tal Erald stone, just like expected," he announced. "And there’s a single tal knuckle here too."
He distributed the regular stones to each party mber, then held up the special tal Erald stone to Jax. "You haven’t done the tal one, right?" he asked.
"Only Wind, Water, Earth, and Poison," Jax answered.
"They yeah, you should take it," Ning said and passed it along. The rest had no complaints.
Jax accepted the stone and tucked it away in his Inventory.
Ning held up the tal knuckles, examining them in the arena’s light. They were well-crafted, with two sets of intricate runes. "Anyone want these? They’re pretty good quality."
None of them were hand-to-hand fighters, so it wasn’t an item anyone wanted. Roman and Jax didn’t need it.
layne took a look at them. "Let have them for now. I should be able to improve them sowhat and sell them for a decent price. I could change the runes at least."
"Actually, can I have them then?" Lucille asked, stepping forward.
"After I fix them? Sure," layne said.
"No, I ant right now," Lucille said. "I might have a need for them."
The others looked at her with both surprise and confusion. Jax, Ning, and layne at least had learned to not question Lucille, but Roman didn’t know.
"Use it however you like," Ning said, tossing the knuckle to her.
Lucille caught the knuckle and slipped it onto her hand. It fit perfectly, as if it was ant for her fingers. She flexed her palm a bit and nodded in satisfaction.
"They do look good on you," Roman said, though his voice carried a note of confusion. "But what are you planning to do with them? You’re our back-line sorcerer. You don’t fight."
Lucille smiled mysteriously. "I don’t fight, indeed," she said. "But that doesn’t an I can’t."
The others exchanged glances but didn’t press the issue. Everyone had their own strategies and preparations.
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